Welcome!
This is a blog showcasing flower photography. I always enjoy photographing blooms, as do many other photographers!

The rules for posting are simple!

1. Every Friday post a photo that includes one or more flowers.2. Please only post photos you have authority to use.3. Include a link to this blog in your post - http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/4. Leave the link to your FloralFridayFoto post below on inlinkz.5. Visit other blogs listed ... comment & enjoy!

When to Post:inlinkz will be available every Thursday and will remain open until the next Wednesday.

Thursday, 13 July 2017

FFF294 - STAR MAGNOLIA

Magnolia stellata, sometimes called the star magnolia, is a slow-growing shrub or small tree native to Japan. It bears large, showy white or pink flowers in early spring, before its leaves open. This species is closely related to the Kobushi magnolia (Magnolia kobus), and is treated by many botanists as a variety or even a cultivar of that. However, Magnolia stellata was accepted as a distinct species in the 1998 monograph by Hunt.This tree grows 1.5 to 2.5 m in height, spreading to 4.6 m in width at maturity. Young trees display upright oval growth, but the plants spread and mound with age. The tree blooms at a young age, with the slightly fragrant 7-10 cm flowers covering the bare plant in late winter or early spring before the leaves appear. There is natural variation within the flower colour, which varies from white to rich pink; the hue of pink magnolias also changes from year to year, depending on day and night air temperatures prior to and during flowering.The flowers are star-shaped, with at least 12 thin, delicate petal-like tepals—some cultivars have more than 30. The leaves open bronze-green, turning to deep green as they mature, and yellow before dropping in autumn. They are oblong and about 10 cm long by about an 4 cm wide. These magnolias produce a reddish-green, knobby aggregate fruit about 5 cm long that matures and opens in early autumn. Mature fruit opens by slits to reveal orange-red seeds, but the fruits often drop before developing fully. Young twigs have smooth, shiny chestnut brown bark, while the main trunks have smooth, silvery gray bark. Like the saucer magnolia (Magnolia × soulangeana), it is deciduous, revealing a twiggy, naked frame in winter. Plants have thick, fleshy roots which are found fairly close to the surface and do not tolerate much disturbance.The species Magnolia stellata may be found growing wild in certain parts of the Ise Bay area of central Honshū, Japan’s largest island, at elevations between 50m and 600m. It grows by streamsides and in moist, boggy areas with such other woody plants as Enkianthus cernuus, Corylopsis glabrescens var. gotoana and Berberis sieboldii.

Join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so. If you take part in the meme, please show an active link back to this site on your own blog post!

Add your own Flower photos on the linky list below and please visit other people's blogs to see their contributions.I appreciate your linking up and enjoy personally seeing your great photos, however, due to a work-related busy time I may have not commented lately - I shall endeavour to do so ASAP!

Dear Nick, I love magnolias, too! My grandparents had a magnolia tree in the garden of their summer house, I loved going there. Now our neighbours have one, near the entrance to our garden :-) Have a wonderful summer! Best wishes, Annie